Achilles's Equal
by lunafemina
Summary: Telopi is the daughter of Ares, the God of War, and is sent to Troy to aid against the invading Greeks. She immediately becomes aware of Achilles, being so like him herself. What happens when these two halfgods clash?
1. To Troy

_To Troy_

"I will NOT go to Troy!" said a very angry, very pretty young woman. Her voice was strong and stern, but strangely childish just then.

"Please, my daughter. I ask you to do this. For me. It will bring us honor," said another, older woman. She was gazing at the younger woman helplessly as though she was completely at the younger woman's mercy and not her mother.

"No! I have brought us enough honor, Mother, through victories. Troy is not a place for me now. Paris stole another man's wife and he must pay the price," the younger woman snarled, her dark eyes gleamed with a viciousness that was rarely seen in women.

"Please, my daughter," her mother begged. "You do nothing else for me. You do not marry and have children and have a family; something that should have been done years ago! You carry around your sword and bow and fight for whatever you chose. I ask you to fight!"

The younger woman stopped and stared hard at her mother. True she had no husband nor children, but what was expected from the daughter of the God of War? She was Telopi, daughter of Ares and a vicious warlord. Marriage was not for her, no matter how many times she told her mother that.

"Alright," Telopi said. "I will go to Troy and fight. But only for you, Mother." But even as she said it, every scrap of sense she had was telling her not to go. Telopi, though being the daughter of Ares and a mortal woman, was the sort of woman the men cursed. They would mutter behind her back then beg her for help when they needed her. The very thing had happened on this day. A messenger from Prince Hector of Troy had arrived to ask her assistance against the Greeks. She didn't see why she should go since not many of the men in Troy, including Prince Hector and King Priam, would take her seriously. She was a warrior and the best warrior ever, perhaps only with Achilles to rival her skills. So why wouldn't they listen to her?

A smile spread across her mother's face. Telopi shifted uncomfortably and looked away. She summoned in the messenger and said, "Very well. Prince Hector of Troy will have Telopi, daughter of Ares, as an ally." The messenger nodded vigorously and bowed to Telopi before leaving. Telopi scowled and twirled her long dark hair in deep though about this war. She may not have been immortal but she had the beauty and strength of a god.

Telopi nodded to her mother before walking out of her home to assemble her faithful men. On this island, she was queen and all knew it. It was an island of her and her warriors, occasionally a soldier would be married and have his family here, but most were loyal to Telopi alone. She walked across the marble courtyard of the large home built for her and her mother and rang a huge bell. The bell echoed and gonged and was heard throughout the island. It was the sign to call her men to her.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes a group of thirty men were assembled before Telopi. Most of the men had brought bows and arrows, having been called away from hunting. Telopi glanced around at her soldiers, her army, the only force she needed. They were the only men to take her seriously and they had good reason to: most of them had fought with Telopi for nearly six years and won every battle they had been in.

"I'm sorry to call you away, but urgent news. I don't believe any of you have heard of the troubles in Troy, but it seems that the young Prince Paris has found himself love in another man's wife." She paused and glanced around while a few men snickered. "Word came to me this morning that Prince Hector is in need of assistance. Kings Menelaus and Agammenon have no doubt gathered an army by now. We set sail for Troy."

After a decent journey, a boat with a red sail with a spear and a dog on it sailed into Troy. Telopi breathed out a sigh in relief to see that the Greek forces had not yet arrived. They were still ahead of the Greeks, for now.

As the boat sailed closer to Troy, the outlines of several figures could be seen. About ten men on horseback were on the beaches, apparently awaiting her arrival. Telopi scowled once more and gripped a spear in her hand. The spear was for her comfort, but she felt an overwhelming desire to throw it at the figures. But at this distance there was no way that even she could hit them.

"My lady, we have arrived at the beach of Troy," Ammathus, Telopi's commander and most trusted soldier, informed her. She nodded as the boat jerked as it hit land.

"Ammathus, come with me on shore. The rest of you stay here for now. I have a feeling we'll have to move the boat," she said as she dropped the spear and walked out of the boat towards the group of riders.

The riders, who had been trailing them from shore, watched Telopi warily. It was probably more because she was a woman and less because she was the daughter of Ares. Then she recognized the front rider from his rich armor as Prince Hector. She smirked and bowed very slightly, almost rudely to him. He nodded his head and said, "Lady, thank you for answering our call. Your loyalty will not be forgotten. My father and I will see to that." Telopi bit back a bitter response and waited for him to continue. "We realize that you have had a long journey, but we ask that you sail your boat a bit farther down the coast, preferably to the back of the island. This is the path that the Greeks are predicted to take. Then we will escort you to Troy."

Telopi nodded, she had expected as much. Turning to Ammathus, she waved her hand and spoke to him briefly. He nodded, gave a weary look at the riders, then went back to the boat. Telopi turned back to Hector, disdain clear on her pretty face, and said, "How far down would you suggest?"


	2. The Task

_The Task_

Later that night, Telopi's boat was safely placed in a quiet harbor and several of her men were placed out as scouts, against Prince Hector's wishes. Regardless of what he had to tell her, she was set on fighting on this war her way, at least ordering her men to fight her way, and as long as she had the best archers in the world she would continue to use them. When she voiced this opinion to Hector, he merely sighed and let her carry on.

Two sets of three archers were now set up to guard her small camp and boat outside of the walls Troy. Having let her carry on, Telopi did not see any reason to make her camp inside the walls of Troy. She felt it necessary to guard her boat and camp, and did so since most of her men were living in the camp. She, however, was not granted that same honor. She was forced inside the walls of Troy.

Prince Hector and his riders accompanied Telopi, Ammathus, and three more of her soldiers into the palace of Troy. As they rode through the streets, many people peered out of their windows to watch this strange young girl. Many tales had been told of this girl who fought battle, the most popular being that she wore men's clothing and armor and fought like a man. However, those who wanted to prove this particular tale right were disappointed. They peered out to find a young dark haired beauty sitting astride a black horse a strange assortment of garments, but completely without armor at all.

Telopi had found no need to wear a helmet or leather armor. She rarely even used a shield. Now she wore black, white, and red tunic that was cut strangely and allowed her free movement. She held her head high and glanced around imperiously at the people in their homes. When she caught them staring at her, they would quickly jump back into their homes out of fright. To all who saw her, she looked like a goddess.

But it was not Telopi that struck fear in their hearts. One of her men brought her flag, the red flag with a spear and dog, and was waving it high above her head. The symbols of Ares were clear to all who saw it. Instead of instilling hope in these people, it made them fear.

Once the group of riders reached the palace of Troy, they dismounted from their horses and made their way inside to introduce Telopi and speak of war. Hector walked quickly inside and led them down the many halls and courtyards. Telopi glanced around dismissively at the fine statues and gold and pottery. Finery was not a thing she cared for. She suffered from bloodlust, something she blamed her father for entirely.

Finally a pair of large doors rested in front Telopi and Hector. The doors led inside to King Priam and his advisors. As hard as she thought she just couldn't figure out why she was going to be allowed in. She scowled in thought, something she did often, and turned to Ammathus and her men.

"Stay here. Eat, drink, and be comfortable. But stay here," Telopi ordered them. Ammathus nodded and bowed without thinking twice about her orders, as did the others. She nodded to them and quickly turned back to Hector. "Shall we?" she asked somewhat arrogantly.

"May I present, Lady Telopi who has answered our call for aid," Hector called out while the doors swung open. All heads in the room turned towards Telopi and Hector. Hector walked down the long room to his place at the end and sat down next to his father, leaving Telopi alone in the doorway.

Telopi took a few steps forward and allowed the doors to swing shut behind her. She locked eyes with King Priam and bowed slightly as she did to Hector, but did not take her eyes away from him. Only when she stood did she finally break eye contact, looking instead at the long basin of water stood in the room in front of Priam.

"Lady Telopi," King Priam began with an edge to his voice. "On behalf of all of us, I thank you for aiding us in our time of need. You may rest assured that it will not be forgotten."

Telopi merely nodded rather than bowing as she should have. "Of course it will not be forgotten, if any are left alive," she said slyly. She could no longer resist the urge to speak of battle the way it should be: straightforward with no lies. No one should be led to believe that they can win a war if they can't.

Her words were not met kindly in the hall. The advisors gasped and the High Priest leapt to his feet. "There have been signs showing that we will win battles! Our gods will favor us!" But Hector silenced him quickly.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked. It was clear from the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes that he was truly interested in what she had to say.

"I mean that the Greeks will have gathered an army by now, thousands strong I am sure. How do you expect to fight an army thousands strong?" she asked bitterly.

"Our walls have never been breached!" boasted a fat general.

"Not yet, but all things fall in time," Telopi remarked casually. She stared Hector in the eyes. "You called me here, no one else; you. Why? Is it because you need more men? Is it because you need someone to challenge Achilles? Why? Answer me!" Her voice had grown to a demanding shout.

"Actually, Lady, we need someone who is as great with a bow and arrow as they are with a sword," Hector began with a sly voice. "We need someone who can stand on the rocks and hit a target in battle. The _only_ target that we want them to hit. We need you to assassinate Achilles."


End file.
